Our Summer BAL 50 Chopin Barcarolle

[silvestrione]

I always think the Barcarolle is overlooked as BAL item because of its length, but actually it's well suited to the format.

My all-time favourite is the Rubinstein 60s stereo version. No one else can produce such a lilt in the rhythm of the left hand, and the harmonic shifts in the cadenaz-like passage late-on are incomparable in their sense of discovery. And the glorious sense of fulfilment in the climaxes! A sense of richness. The live Rubinstein version from the Moscow recital has an intensity belonging to that extraordinary occasion, and is also unforgettable.

Other versions I like:
Horowitz
Lipatti
Richter
Pollini

But I'd like to hear what others have as favourites in this piece.

[Stanfordian]

I always think the Barcarolle is overlooked as BAL item because of its length, but actually it's well suited to the format.

My all-time favourite is the Rubinstein 60s stereo version. No one else can produce such a lilt in the rhythm of the left hand, and the harmonic shifts in the cadenaz-like passage late-on are incomparable in their sense of discovery. And the glorious sense of fulfilment in the climaxes! A sense of richness. The live Rubinstein version from the Moscow recital has an intensity belonging to that extraordinary occasion, and is also unforgettable.

Other versions I like:
Horowitz
Lipatti
Richter
Pollini

But I'd like to hear what others have as favourites in this piece.

Hiya silvestrione,

I've always been highly delighted with Rubinstein playing Chopin. In the Barcarolle I admire Rubinstein on RCA Red Seal from 1961/62.